Golden Eagle softball team picked for third in preseason OVC poll

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech softball team has been
picked in a tie for third place in the annual Ohio Valley
Conference poll of head coaches, announced today by the league
office.

Jacksonville State has been selected to win the 2010 OVC softball
title. The Gamecocks, who won their third OVC regular-season title
last year, picked up six first-place votes and 76 points. Last
season's tournament champions, UT Martin earned two first-place
votes and 65 points for a second-place predicted finish.

Southeast Missouri, which earned a first-place nod, and Tennessee
Tech are selected to finish in a tie for third with 60 points while
Morehead State garnered the final first-place vote and 58 points to
be listed fifth. Rounding out the poll are Eastern Illinois (36),
Eastern Kentucky (36), Murray State (23), Tennessee State (22) and
Austin Peay (13).

Coach Tory Acheson's team is coming off a season in which it
finished 26-31 overall record while going 10-12 in the OVC to place
fifth. Acheson enters his 13th season at the helm of the Golden
Eagles and will welcome back seven starters from last season.
Junior Lacie Coquerille returns this season after leading the team
with a .320 batting average. She also ranked among league leaders
with 54 hits in 57 games played. Sophomore Whitney Cummings also
returns to the Golden Eagles this year. She led the team with seven
home runs and 32 RBI last year.

Tech's 2010 softball campaign gets underway on Feb. 12-13 at the
MTSU Invitational with Conference play starting March 20 against
Austin Peay. The 2010 OVC Softball Championship takes place on May
13-15 on the campus of the highest seed.

2010 OVC SOFTBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH(as voted on by the league's head softball coaches)